Corona del Sol girls soccer coach Matt Smith had a pretty fair summation of  the Aztecs Central Region matchup with Mesquite.

"I told our girls afterward this match was decided by two inches," Matt Smith said.

Mesquite forward Aya Shoura tucked in the only goal of the night in the 67th minute Friday to lift the Wildcats to a 1-0 win over the visiting Aztecs in the third meeting of the brothers Smith.

The win was Mesquite's ninth of the year and second this week in region play. Overall the Wildcats, coached by Matt Smith's younger brother, Scott, are 9-4-1, 2-0. Mesquite entered the match No. 1 in the 5A-I power rankings. Corona del Sol dropped to 7-3-1, 0-1.

Mesquite, which had fewer scoring opportunities in the match, capitalized on its best chance. Midfielder Hailey St. Clair worked the ball along the right sideline and threaded a pass to Shoura, who had her defender beat. Shoura's shot ticked the left post and nestled in the goal for the win.

One of a handful of Corona chances in the first half, a 20-yard shot by Micah Jones, was deflected by the fingertips of Mesquite keeper Taylor Rice in the 30th minute. The ball caromed off Rice's fingers and then the crossbar.

"I dont' know if the Mesquite fans know how good a save that was," Matt Smith said of Rice. "From our angle it was fantastic."

Scott Smith, in his second year coaching Mesquite, finally got his first win against Matt. Corona beat Mesquite twice last season -- once in regular season in a shootout and the second time 1-0 in the state quarterfinals.

"After losing two times last year it's great to get a win," Scott Smith said, with the Smith Trophy resting a few feet away from him. "That was a big goal for Aya. She's been struggling a bit. And Hailey is one of the top holding midfielder's in the state.

"Our region, the way it is, every match is a battle. We're in for more of these the next few weeks."

Corona has dominated most of the matches it has played this season. The Aztecs have only given up three goals -- all in 1-0 losses. They have one 1-0 win. Earlier this week the Aztecs traveled to Kingman and enjoyed a 17-0 goalfest.

"I wasn't sure the first few minutes if we were ready to play," Matt Smith said. "After that the effort was great."